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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

GENERAL NOTES:
- OEM Brake Shoes are made by "Jurid", I use "Pagid", result is nice and solid Parking braking effect.
- Budget 1h/side
- At 12 years, 105K miles, the REAR Rotors were warped, the inner drum part has rusted, the brake shoes material has partially fallen off, no wonder I had trouble with the PARKING Brake, which was basically useless. If your REAR rotors are more than 8 years, 80K miles, consider new REAR rotors because resurfacing the drum part (where the brake shoes come in contact with) is difficult and it may cost $15-20 to do it and it does not make sense to re-surface it while a new rotor (BALO brand) is only $42.

- Do this a level driveway, don't even dream about doing this on a sloped driveway! Once the REAR is raised, there is nothing to prevent the car from rolling, other than the chocks on the FRONT wheel!

PROCEDURE:
1. Chock BOTH the Front and Rear parts of the FRONT Wheels!!!

2. Loosen wheel bolts a bit, but do not remove the bolts yet!

3. Jack one side at a time, place Jackstand under subframe.

4. Remove Rear wheel.

5. From the cabin, set car to Neutral and Release Parking Brake Handle.

6. Pull the UPPER part of the Leather Cover (held by 2 plastic clips) to expose the Brake Cable adjusting nuts.
Mine was never touched before by the previous owners, so I left Brake Cable adjusting nuts alone.
If you need to adjust the cable, do a search! The bottom line is when properly adjusted, there is a VERY SLIGHT slack on the cable, i.e., as soon as you pull 1-2 clicks the other end in the Brake Drum should start moving (you need an assistant to help with this). Anyway, look it up.

7. Remove Brake Caliper 16-mm bolts. I use Rubber Hammer helps with the 16-mm wrench to remove these bolts. You may need to use a screwdriver to pry the caliper out of the rotors (pry between the ventilated part of the rotor and the metal part of the caliper).
Then hang the caliper to the Suspension Spring using electrical wire to prevent straining the brake hose!

8. During re-installation of Brake Caliper. I also use Rubber Hammer on the wrench because it is impossible to get a torque wrench in there.

9. Use a 6-mm Allen wrench to remove the bolt holding the rotor. Adjust the Star Wheel to release the shoes. So read this carefully:* RIGHT Side: Move Star Wheel DOWN to EXPAND the Brake Shoes.
* LEFT Side: Move Star Wheel UPWARD to EXPAND the Brake Shoes.
Then pull old rotor out.

10. Now pause and observe the existing layout! This is crucial for re-assembly.
- Use a 5-mm Allen Key to twist the pin holding the shoes. The pin uses 90 degrees turn to lock and unlock.

- I use a pair of vice-grip to remove/install the spring (wear eye protection!), basically biting on the straight part of the hook and pull it in or out. You can also use the "special brake spring tool" ($10-15 at local auto parts store).
- BIG Spring goes on TOP and SMALL Spring at Bottom
- Adjusting Star Wheel faces REARWARD.

11. I greased the Brake Cable end with wheel bearing grease using a BBQ skewer:

12. Also clean the Adjusting Star Wheel interior and apply small amount of grease.

13. During re-installation, follow this sequence (I learned it the hard way, so don't asků....hehe!):

14. To adjust the Parking Brake (This is very standard in virtually all cars, so you can also use this idea on a Volvo, Toyota etc.):
- Make sure car is in Neutral and the Parking Brake Handle in the cabin is released. Spin the rotor a bit to be sure it spins freely.
- Re-install the Wheel with only 4 bolts and hand-tighten the bolts snug.
- Move the Wheel Empty Hole so it lines upat approx. 6 o'clock position.
- Use a flash light to shine inside to see the Adjusting Star Wheel.
- Using a small flat screwdriver, TIGHTEN the Star Wheel until the Wheel stops moving.
- Now back off about 5 clicks on the Star Wheel: now you should be able to spin the wheel.
You will hear a slight dragging noise, this is normal, so don't worry about this slight dragging noise!
- Go to the cabin and pull the Parking Brake, it should stops at about 5-6 clicks or so.

16. To seat the shoes, find a quiet street and apply the Hand Brake a few times. I used this Nissan procedure for break-in. It works for virtually any car:

17. Make it a habit using the Parking Brake every time you park the car.

18. Once a month, apply hand brake while driving at 15 mph for about 200 feet (10-15 seconds or so) to prevent rust inside the drum. Anyway, this is what I have been doing for 20 years, right or wrong I don't know, but it works....

Adjust the Star Wheel to release the shoes. So read this carefully:* RIGHT Side: Move Star Wheel DOWN to EXPAND the Brake Shoes.
* LEFT Side: Move Star Wheel UPWARD to EXPAND the Brake Shoes.

Thank you cn90! You are so wonderful!

I wish I had this parking brake DIY two years ago when I gave up on replacing my parking brake shoes for lack of a DIY! The Bentleys were useless for me for the parking brake - and there wasn't a DIY that I could find - so I left them alone.

Nowhere does it even say which direction of the star wheel does what (you did! Thanks). It's not obvious which direction does what until you've moved the star adjuster wheel a LOT of clicks and by then, you might hopelessly have misadjusted them (ask me how I know); so, precise details like those you put in your DIY are fantastic timesavers!

Over the last few days, I have done the break-in procedure for the Brake Shoes and the Parking Brake holds the car nicely on a slope with car in Neutral; however if you park the car, use BOTH the Parking Brake and 1st Gear for Man Trans cars.

I really like this Pagid Brake Shoes. FYI, OEM is Jurid.

I have been using Pagid brand in all of my Volvo for 20 years, I love it.Highly recommend Pagid.

As you indicated that new material is about 3.5-4 mm (0.137") thick.
I'd think 1 mm is the absolute minimum for drum shoes, this is based on the usual recommendation with regular disc brake pad min spec is 1-2 mm.

Here's how I came up with that:Given that every 1mm is about 0.0394 inches and given the thickness of the steel backing plate on my E39 was 0.1005 inches, the minimum measured thickness of the backing plate + friction material calculates to 0.0394 + 0.1005 which comes to just about 0.1400 inches.

If new brake shoe friction material is 0.137" thick, then with a 0.1005" backing plate, the nominal new thickness is 0.2375 which I'll round up to 0.240 inches.

Note: Since my brake shoes were 0.2375 inches thick (pad + steel), which is no where near 140 thousandths of an inch, I was right not to replace the brake shoes at the time I measured them. Interestingly, it seems my brake shoes, at 238 thousandths of an inch must have been almost new (based on cn90's statement that new material is about 0.137" thick.
This picture is from the attached E36 brake job DIY which included parking brake shoes.

I've adjusted mine several times in the past, but when on a slope and I pull the brake handle and let go, the car moves down a tad before engaging. Irritates the hell out of me. Perhaps my shoes are shot???

I've adjusted mine several times in the past, but when on a slope and I pull the brake handle and let go, the car moves down a tad before engaging. Irritates the hell out of me. Perhaps my shoes are shot???

Yes, your shoes are gone.

Procedure is the same for 540 (I don't know about M5).
Part Numbers are the same for 540.

I forgot to mention the proper use of the Brake Plier. It is mentioned at time marking of 0:40 in this clip found on youtube, basically the pliers squeeze between the shoe and the spring to hook it in place:

One minor question that's actually OT for the brake shoes (which is a wonderful DIY that I wish I had two years ago!). I don't mean to take away from this thread so you can answer quickly and I won't argue.

But ... I'm curious ... because ... information has it ... most times what we think of as "warped" is not warped at all ...

- Warped rotor DOES exist. When I removed my old rotor, it was deeply scored with grooves.

- Another issue is resurfacing the rotor or not. Back in the old days, rotors were more expensive so resurfacing is recommended.
Now, a new rotor is about $40-50 (Resurfacing cost is about $10-20). So the incentive to resurface is less now.

But for the sake of argument, regardless of the causes of brake pedal pulsing, whether it is pad deposit or warped rotor) resurfacing rotor helps smooth things out, but as you know the rotor is now thinner after resurfacing, so it may be warped again sooner than a brand new rotor.

The issue of brake pad deposit on the rotor has been discussed multiple times here.

OK. I was just curious. I said I wouldn't argue.

Interestingly, when I read the reference article, this one sentence stuck out because of what wasn't said.
"In some states, such as California, the law stipulates when certain parts may or may not be replaced."

Hmmm. Anyone know what the California law stipulates with respect to front and rear and parking brake parts? I found the CA BAR web page but it doesn't say.

It is interesting to see the new PN but the parts are exactly identical.
I just checked different websites and it shows the same hardware kit.
Does anyone know when a part is superceded with a new PN, what does it mean besides a different PN?

It is interesting to see the new PN but the parts are exactly identical.
I just checked different websites and it shows the same hardware kit.
Does anyone know when a part is superceded with a new PN, what does it mean besides a different PN?

I have been checking on prices.
I happened to check Tischer/ GetBMWparts.com , put in the part number from your DIY, and their site told me it was an old part number.

I am just wondering about the logistic of any PN when superseded, what it means. Just a general question on any part, not just this Parking Brake part.

I don't know how BMW makes the decision.
Based on my experience in industrial settings, the superseding part is changed in some manner but:
1 is backward compatible for use in the old application, old stock can be used in its original application, but not in a new application/machine/equipment. Instance 1 is most common when the part is used in a new application/machine that needs different properties. Sometimes when the new part has been redesigned for cost reduction and looks different even though it will perform the same function. Superseding reduces the number of stock units to inventory which is a cost saving.

or

2 the old part # should not be used any longer & old stock will be withdrawn from the supply chain. Instance 2 would usually occur when experience demonstrated that the original part fails prematurely or is found not to perform properly under conditions overlooked during design.

Instance 1 vs 2 is often invisible to the end users. The OEM decides whether to actively withdraw superseded stock from the supply chain or let it run down without replenishment.

This explanation is simplified, but I'm trying to avoid a treatise in engineering change management, inventory control and supply chain management .